re both included in that ideal. Finally, should the government give support and encouragement to religious activity, or should it stay out completely? Mr. Justice Felix Frankfurter said it nicely: "If nowhere else, in the relations between Church and State, good fences make good neighbors." (Pole 69) The American government should stay out of all religious affairs. One of the main reasons America broke away from England was to gain religious freedom, and to not have to be pressured by the government into following one specific religion. Therefore, the Supreme Court agreed, "In the relationship between man and religion, the State is firmly committed to a position of neutrality." (Pole 122) The founders of this country made an agreement that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The government, from then on, vowed not get involved with any religious affairs or concerns. And that is the way things should be. If the government gets involved in religion, there is a chance that America could revert back to the ways of England; where there existed an established national religion, as well as complaining among the British citizens about that religion. It has been said that we must learn from our past, in order to live in the present, in order to better the future. And in America’s past looms the unfortunate mistake of the British government’s involvement in religion. History has proven that church and state need not mix. "The law knows no heresy, and is committed to the support of no dogma, the establishment of no sect." (Pole 112) This does not mean that individuals can take advantage of this freedom. Just because the American government is not going to get involved in any type of religion or religious activity, does not mean that they are going to blind themselves to the area completely. The church and state still communicate, even though they do not often di...
